“The essence of competitiveness is liberated when we make people believe that what they think and do is important—and then get out of their way while they do it.”
Jack Welch, former CEO, General Electric
It’s been a long held truth that the single largest competitive advantage of top performing organizations is its people. In fact 75% of U.S. businesses utilize recognition and non-cash rewards to motivate employees and encourage engagement in the workplace simply for this reason.1
Engaged employees are more productive and are willing to invest the extra effort to make the organization a success. In addition to the direct impact on the organization, engaged employees also are critical to customer satisfaction. Since the perception of a company is directly attributed to customer interactions with employees, engaged employees service needs more efficiently and effectively.
Employee engagement initiatives also play a role in the overall profitability of a business. Organizations who run long-term incentive programs, specifically where travel is the prize for high-producers, see significant results.
Employee Engagement Activities
Traditionally speaking, employee engagement activities have consisted of either cash or non-cash incentives. Cash rewards include bonuses, job promotions and additional compensation. While cash rewards are easier for companies to implement, they can be difficult to sustain especially during a turbulent economy. When the economy is tight, corporate belt tightening can restrict cash payouts even for the best employees. Additionally, cash incentives historically due not maintain engagement long term as employees begin to equate performance incentives with entitlement cash payouts such as annual pay raises.
Non-cash incentives, on the other hand, consist of tangible experiences that stick with employees long after they have received the award. By far, the best and most effective non-cash engagement activity is travel largely because it provides an experience that is memorable, enjoyable and valuable.
The Case for Incentive Travel
It’s clear that travel incentives also provide compelling value for organizations.
In a study by the Incentive Research Foundation2 found that 65% of employees would choose a non-cash award and the most preferred award for high-producing employees is travel. This aligns with McKinsey and Co’s findings3: “…numerous studies have concluded that for people with satisfactory salaries, some non-financial motivators are more effective than extra cash in building long-term employee engagement.“
The results of travel incentive program on business objectives are significant. Aberdeen Research reports that organizations who use incentive travel as an employee engagement award see three times higher revenue.4 Additionally other studies5 demonstrate that properly designed travel incentive programs increase productivity by 18% and produce a 112% ROI.
If the above studies aren’t compelling enough, 100% of best-in-class companies6 (considered such for high customer retention rates and sales growth), utilize travel incentive awards to boost both productivity and revenue growth.
Conclusion
Employees prefer non-cash incentives such as travel over cash rewards Non-cash employee engagement initiatives deliver on their promises by increasing both revenue and productivity.
For more information about how a travel incentive program can benefit employee engagement in your business, contact Gavel International for more information.
SOURCES:
1http://theirf.org/research/irf-2016-trends-in-incentive-travel-rewards-and-recognition/1692/
2http://theirf.org/research/2015-landmark-study-participant-award-experience-preferences/1619/
4http://theirf.org/research/rewards-and-recognition-as-a-vital-compensation-component/193/
5http://theirf.org/research/measuring-the-roi-of-sales-incentive-programs/175/